Aquaphobia (Percy Jackson Fic)

To Be Among the Stars

A/N: This chapter was very hard to write. It contained a lot of emotion and it took me a few sessions to write it all. I've been having a pretty hard time lately and I just feel empty. I tried to put some of my feelings into this chapter, but I don't fully understand them myself, so sorry if it doesn't make sense. Shout out to @Hinny_Is_Life who gave me ideas for this chapter and the next one.

Warnings: Suicide. Warnings have been placed.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson franchise. I only own any characters I create and most of the plot line.

Everyone is getting antsy as we slowly approach the Mediterranean. I am currently on the top deck of the ship staring outwards attempting to catch sight of Gibraltar. "Aria!" Calls Derrek. He is slowly approaching my position next to wheel. "We need to talk," he says. I nod my head and sit down on the ground. He copies the movement, and we sit facing each other. "What do you need?" I ask.

"We need to talk about the prophecy," he says.

"Alright," that seems reasonable, it is kind of essential to the quest.

"We know that you have to go into Tartarus, but I have been thinking about the later line 'two will fall'. I think it means only two of us will go into Tartarus, which will obviously be you and me." I have also been thinking about that line, but the prophecy made it very clear that a lot of the quest will be done with Greyson, so it can't only be us two. "I've also been thinking about how it says only four will complete the task. We are approaching the Mediterranean, and clearly only four of us are meant to make it to Tartarus, so I think we should send Greyson back."

"You what?" I ask, astonished.

"I know he is in the prophecy, but we have already broken it to let me lead so we might as well get rid of him."

"We can't just get rid of him," I reply, trying to talk some sense into Derrek, "we are about to enter the Mediterranean which means more monster attacks, we need all the help we can get."

"But I think—" begins Derrek before I cut him off.

"Look." He looks out as we see the strait of Gibraltar looming ahead. We rush to get everyone on deck. Everyone knows that once we pass through the strait, we will be in a monster hot zone. We slowly approach and we can all feel danger in the air. The waves become choppier, and the air feels static. "Here we go."

🌀 🌀 🌀 🌀 🌀

The first hour in the Mediterranean brings no monsters with it, despite this, we are all still on high alert. I am currently on the haul of the ship with Elani scanning the area around us for monsters. "So" begins Elani, "how have you been?" I laugh lightly at her question, "Elani, we have been on the same boat for nearly a week now, there is very little going on that you don't know about." She looks a little sheepish after I finish. She knocks my shoulder lightly, "you know what I mean."

"Do I?" she sighs in exasperation.

"I just want to see how you are feeling since it's your first quest and you have to lead." I'm not leading, but she doesn't need to know that. I open my mouth to answer her, but the water begins to ripple around the boat. Like with the first monster attack, I can feel the creatures moving in the ocean, but unlike the first attack, this isn't one large creature, this feels like many small ones. "Go get the others!" I shout to Elani who struggles to hear me over the loud waves. She must get the message, as she soon runs below deck. The first monster shoots out of the water the moment she disappears from view. I look at the horse like fish. "Hippocampi." I say out loud through gritted teeth. More begin to jump out of the water and I waste no time in summoning my daggers. One charges at me and I swiftly swing my dagger, striking it in the chest. It dissolves into a golden dust that drifts into the air and out to sea. This only seems to anger the rest of the hippocampi as they all begin charging. I swing left and right killing monster after monster, but I soon find myself getting overwhelmed. Just when I think I can't hold them off any longer, Elani and everyone else surge onto deck. Percy brings a wave out of the water and washes half of the Hippocampi off of the deck. I feel a grin grow on my face as my attacks regain their initial intensity. What the hippocampi lack in battle skills they make up for in numbers. I slice through monster after monster until I am back-to-back with Greyson. We work together to lessen the number of Hippocampi on the north side of the ship. I hear a scream and see Derrek becoming overwhelmed. I instantly started pushing my way through the battle to get to him. I slice a monster who was about to tackle Derrek in half, the dust falling over Derrek's clothing. He pulls me close to him as we continue defending ourselves. "Tell Greyson and Elani to clear the top part of deck. Once it's clear, we will all go there, and Percy will wash them off the boat." I listen to his order, but I hesitate. The hippocampi that Percy washes into the ocean aren't dying, just getting angry. I realise that Derrek must not know this, so I try to tell him. "Derrek—" I try to say.